Big Red

I think you are missing Kayia Griffin (Ryle) committed to Xavier to your offensive side. She along with Faith in the midfield, would be a tandem that could create various offensive opportunities. Add Kaiyia to your mix above, and would be fun to watch that play out. From a defensive perspective, it is difficult due to the fact that some of the better defensive teams played so many on defense it was tough to see the individual talent. Maggie Yelton (Dixie) has been a solid defender for several years there. The only name I can come up with. It makes me think how frustrating it must be to be a really good defender, and no one knows your name because no one talks about great defensive play in soccer! Agree to not playing at St. Henry, and No, also not playing on any other small grass field!

This topic was brought up on boys basketball forum. How would a 9th region all-star team stack up vs. Covington Catholic this year, and who would you put on the team? It sparked a good conversation, and it was popular opinion that you could put together an All-Star team that would compete against this year's dominant CCH team. @FrankNicodemus suggested, in that thread, that he does not think that a 9th region girls all-star would stack up to this year's undefeated NDA Panda's. In thinking about this, keep in mind that an All-Star team would still have to figure out a way to create quality shots and score vs. that NDA defense, while stopping their "All D1" organized attack. I have my ideas of who I'd have on that team, but for the sake of not taking the fun away from you, let's hear your starting 11, and reasoning how this All-Star team would compete with The Pandas. Or, do you agree with @FrankNicodemus comment and why? Go!!! (And feel free to add thoughts and comments regarding your picks)

@frank, I agree and great new thread topic.

"All-star teams fail because they solely rely on the individual's talent"... The great Herb Brooks

Very good game. Holy Cross had a good game plan, stuck to it, and kept it close. NDA did not have a good night shooting, and had to grind out the win vs. a very game Holy Cross team. Julia Hunt might be the most talented player in NKY. She is simply a stud.

I'm going to lean to dominant guard play as the most important factor when we get to this time of the season in high school. Give me Macie and Lacey and The Freihoffer sisters, and it comes down to that for me. How big was the graduation of Crittenden at Ryle? She ran the team, and they have, at times, looked lost without her (despite all of their talent). How impactful was Lockhart? Cooper for reasons above. NDA and Dixie both comfortably. I know nothing about the Birds, but looks like they have some momentum, so why not!?!?!?!

Cooper leads 49-16 and are calling off the dogs, subs coming in.

Cooper is moving the ball so well. Playing with alot of confidence.

Cooper is playing like we thought they should. With both Friehofers, they are a very talented team. Not a shock.

Yes, I'm calling for Cooper to make a run, which would obviously start tonight. I do want to reiterate, my thoughts are based 100% on Cooper being that good and talented. I have not seen Conner, and do not know anything about their players.

Last year, both favorites (some would say heavy favorites), Ryle girls and CCH boys, were upset in the Regional Semi's. No disrespect to Conner, bc I have not seen them play, but I expect Cooper to make noise in both district and regional tournament. If they are finally healthy, Cooper has the talent and guard play to get hot and upset NDA (who has earned clear favorite status).

Some were referring this year's soccer sweet 16 as the "Notre Dame Academy Invitational." I've seen some very good basketball teams this year. I know SHA has had a few bumps in the road, but from the one game I saw SHA they are on another level. In basketball, you can't stack all of your players on the defensive side to slow the game down like you can in soccer. In a very talented tournament, SHA might have what it takes to put on a dominant performance. I hope I'm wrong, but that's my prediction.

Yeah, nothing negative or "don't get it" about the selection, but I would say it's a bit "off the radar" selection. I'm not familiar with the selection process, but there are so many good Sr. players this year, had to be difficult. Congrats to Rylee. Do we know if she is playing in college?

I cold watch these two teams play every week and not get bored. Fast, physical, skilled, and a bunch of athletes going at it. Despite the final score, GRC is 100% legit and well coached. They have it all, except did not seem to have depth. Apologies for the broken record soundbite, but you have to be able to withstand all 4 quarters of NDA's "fresh legs, 10 deep" pressure. GRC's inside size and skill did frustrate NDA, but the Pandas kept it ugly and close for 3 quarters and opened up the score in the 4th. GRC was up 2 at half. It was tight at the end of the 3rd. Hubert got hot from 3 in second half, and you could see a different team gear from NDA in the 4th quarter that GRC could not match.

NDA has 4 losses, but I don't really count (or not concerned with) The Mount Notre Dame loss. Two bad losses to Sacred Heart and in overtime to Bullet East. I think NDA would like another shot at Bullet East, but Sacred Heart is legitimate bad match up for NDA. Is NDA, with their defensive style and depth, just a bad matchup for this talented Ryle team? Go back to last year's upset loss in the Regional semi's, and they had Crittenden there to handle most of the pressure. Ryle never looked comfortable in that game last year. Was this just a bad night for Ryle, or does this NDA team (with their size, speed, defense, pace of play) create a worst case match up scenario for them?

Unfortunately didn't make this game. I did think Ryle would struggle with NDA press / depth, but not to this degree. I agree with 1992 Rebel... Wow!

The next best thing to a CCH vs. Highlands 9th region final matchup will be your "this is how David will take down Goliath" detailed analysis on the day before the game! Definitely something I will be looking forward to, and hope you get the opportunity to dive into that scenario!

When your "honorable mentions" are those 3 names, that is a massive statement about the quality of girls basketball in NKY. We were excited about our top 3 teams going into the year, and it turns out we have a super Top 5 in NKY. I am clearly missing out on not getting to see Conner this year. Conner vs. Cooper in District playoffs will be a must see (semi-final not finals) game! The 9th will be a battle royal! Can't wait.

Amber Branum from NDA committed to Wright St. this week. Amber is the 3rd member of the NDA defense to sign D1. Big congrats to Amber on her signing and great year!

Another tight game between these two. Any comments or details from someone in attendance?

I understand that there can be a talent gap, and what can differentiate the kids as far as recruiting. It is fantastic for the local kids to be getting these D1 offers. I probably need to watch more of Ryle (I have seen them more than a few times the past few years). I have found it interesting on some of these discussions how players are viewed because of how they are rated or recruited, as opposed, to how good (or great) they are as a high school player in a specific year. Nick Ruthsatz is a great example. Let me make my point in a different way. For this year, if you are doing a high school girls draft. You can pick any kid from the current top 5 teams to go play a round robin "high school" tournament. If you were to pick Macie Feldmann first overall to lead your team, and Whitney (Cooper) second, and Lacey Bradshaw top 5, no one is looking at you like you are crazy. As opposed to a different year where if Maddie Scherr and Lauren Schwartz didn't go top 2, then there is clearly a lack of understanding what's going on. I don't see a gap like that for this year, and of course, that is no disrespect intended to any of the great players that make these. Also, it is just my opinion.

Maybe it's me, and I'm not reading reading the tone of this the right way. It seems like you are making a point to differentiate the top talent at Ryle as a significant gap to other teams, with their 3-4 Div 1 talented players. I don't see the gap the same way. Lacey Bradshaw is a 4 year starter, top player in region for several years with multiple D1 offers, committed to Morehead St. Do we not consider Macey Feldmann one of the best athletes in the state? She's clearly a D1 talent in multiple sports, but going to Johns Hopkins for the added academic dynamic. Do we view Holtman as that much more of a talent than Hubert? I'm not a talent evaluator, but they look pretty similar to me. At a minimum, Hubert has established herself as a top 3pt shooter in the state, and defenses are keying on her midway through the season. Have you seen Maya Lawrie? Yes, she's a freshmen, but (at 5'10") she's as tough and athletic as anyone I've seen. I am also pretty sure Carly Tranter will play D1 in soccer. I'm not sure about basketball, but it's D1 athletic talent. Probably biased and haven't seen as many games as others, but I don't get the "top 4" gap in talent the way it's inferred above. No disrespect to Kes, but I'm not sure we should give him all the credit compared the kids. I also think similar comparisons could be done with Cooper.

Interesting last week for NDA. If I read it correctly, they had three tough contests, where all were tight going into the 4th quarter and NDA won all 3 by double digits. Even with the loss of McNight, they still play 10, and press most of the game. Aside from Sacred Heart, NDA has been consistent in wearing teams down. They are also consistently getting double digits points from several players. Cooper is supposed to get the other Freihoffer back at some point. If they face NDA again, I'm sure that will help. Ryle at Anderson County, Dixie at Ursuline, Cooper at Holy Cross make for more good action this week.

An unfortunate and big loss happened to NDA outside the boxscore. Sad to say, SR Jillian McNight, had surgery to repair a torn ACL this week. This obviously stinks, as we've seen this injury too often to our female athletes, and best wishes on recovery to a great kid. Jillian is a multi year starter, and 3 pt specialist for the Pandas. Her ability to impact a game will be missed (see her 6 3 pointers vs. Ryle last year semi-finals). If any team can overcome this, it could be NDA, but this is a significant loss.

I haven't seen enough to discuss individual matchups, but Cooper has plenty of size out there. For as long and skilled as Ryle is, Cooper looked similar. Lind listed at 6'2, Deere 6'1, Palmer 5'10, and both Freihoffer's right there. Yes, shoot, didn't mean to butcher Austin's last name. She was terrific, and agree thought Baker was very confident in the post. Yes, Ryle only played 6, and very little full court pressure in the game. Interested to see how they look when pressured.